Beadfoed f



(No Model.)

B. F. LANCASTER.

` y WRENCH. No. 325,942. Patented Sept. 8, 1885.

N. PETERS. Phuvlilhogmphir, Wanhiwon. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT Crrrcri..

BRADFORDF. LANCASTER, CF AUGUSTA, MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO RICHARD W. BLACK, OF SAME PLACE."

WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325,942, dated September 8, 1885.

' Application tiled January 29,1885. (No model.)

.To all 'whom t may concern/:

Be it known that I, BRADFORD F. LANCAS- TER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Augusta, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, haveinyented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to wrenches for machine and general use; andthe object 'of my invention is to make a wrench that may be instantly set upon a nut and there held automatically until removed.

My invention consists, briefly, of the usual jaws, one of which slides between two guides. The sliding jaw, being pushed up to the nut, is there held by making a quarter-turn to the right with the handle, thereby engaging'certain threads. l j

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation ofmy wrench. Fig. 2 is atop View. Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section through .r x

of Fig. l. Fig.. 4 is a section through y y of" Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are details of various parts.

A is one of the jaws of the wrench, connected with which are the side bars, CC. The bars C Cform two guides, in which slides the jaw B, this jaw having grooves in its sides to iit the guides C C. The yoke D connects the ends of the side bars, C C. The screw E.

v passes through holes or openingsin the yoke D and the jaw B, and is headed or riveted on the inside of the jaw'. The ratchet-wheel G is attached tothe screw E next to the jaw B, the teeth g coming against the side of jaw B.

h is a catch formed on the side of a pin, H, which pin extends back into a hole in the jaw B. The spiral spring I is compressed into the back end of this hole by the end of the pin H. The end of the pin I-I which extends beyond the face ofthe jaw B is formed into a cap or head, h2.

lEhe screw E has threads cut for a portion of its circumference on opposite sides, leaving two spaces between, which are dressed down to the base of the threads. (See Fig.

6.) These threads are cut right and left handed, and are therefore pointed at each end.

On the inside surface of the yokeD,where the screw passes through,are threads d, cut in the same manner as those on the screw E. Two slots, d d', are cut out of this opening, on opposite sides, of sufcient size to allow the 5 5 screw-threads e e to pass through. F is the handle of the wrench.

Having thus described the construction of my wrench, I now proceed toshow its manner of operation. 6o

When the wrench is to be used, the line of the threads e eA is brought within the slot d. The screw E, bearing the jaw B, may now be freely slid in and out. The jaws are closed onto the nut, and the screw E turned to the right. l rlhe threads e e, having the slots d' d', engage the threads d on the inner surface of the yoke D. The jaw B is thus forced sol-idly against the nut. The catch h, forced outward by the spring I, engages the teeth g of the ratchetwheel G and prevents the screw E from turning backward after the jaws are set up. .The nut is thus held firmly between the jaws of the wrench. The threads c e and d d, being pointed at each vend, will engage each other at any point where the jaws happen to stop, and the pitch of the screwis sufficient to move the jaw up to a solid bearing.

When the jaws are to beloosed, the thumb is pressed on theV head h2 of the pin H, and 8o the catch la is-thus disengaged from' the ratchetwheel G. The screw 4E maythen be turned backward and the thread e brought within the slots d', as before described.

The operation of setting the jaws on a nut 8 5 by my wrench is almost instantaneous, and consists merely of shoving in the handle and giving it a quarter of a turn or less to the right. By the use of the screw E, I obtain the strength of grip characteristic of the screw- 9o wrench, together with a great rapidity of action.

Thethreads d, instead of being cut on the inner surface of the'yoke, may be cut on the inside ofthe side bars,C C; butI consider the construction as here shown preferable because the threads are protected from accident.

The end ofthe screw may be pivoted tothe jaw B in a variety of ways, and the catch h may also be differently constructed; and I roo therefore do not Wish to eonfme myself to the In testimony whereof I affix my signature precise methods here shown. Y in the presence of two'wtnesses.

I-c1aiml The Wrench Consisting of jaws A and B, side 5 bams, C C, and yoke D7 through which passes screw E, which screw is pivoted to jaw B and which contains ratchet-Wheel G, controlled by catch h, substantially as shown aud'descrbed.

BRADFORD F. LANCASTER.

Witnesses,

0.-]3. MORTON,

CHAs. B. CHICK. 

